If the job market here stays strong over the next two to three years Austin/suburbs should finally see some decent appreciation.Some of the neighborhoods I "fish" in have seen quite a few sales to Californians so while 1/3 may be strong there is definitely some evidence that the speculators have arrived.

At its heart it shows a few things that I think are pretty important:1) the counter-NAR/MLS culture is trying to get organized and strike in the right place -- Congress2) NAR lobbyists are all over the subcommittee already, they see this type of hearing as a direct attack on their bread and butter; their presence is directly reflected in the comments of the congressmen3) If you're looking for future trends, here they are; the writing is on the wall.

I direct traffic from my Craig's list ads to a website that i host myself -- there I post multiple photos of the outside of the property, a detailed description of the property and neighborhood (including shops, restaurants, etc. within walking distance), photos of the interior and a floorplan.

the neighborhood new construction of similar type is selling for 6 to 800,000 on split-up and originally small lots.

4) How do you learn if a) the area is already a rental neighborhood (I would think that would be a good thing if there were more rentals around, right?)

I myself will never buy into crime infested, druggie neighborhoods.

The home was a higher end home being located in a $1million dollar neighborhood.

They're looking for more than just shelter, they wan't a safe, respectable looking neighborhood.

If I want to tracks trends in a particular residential neighborhood or zip code one way to do it would be to:(1) keep track of the number of homes put up for sale per month and (2) keep track of the number of prospective buyers who visit those homes per month and(3) keep track of the number of homes that sell per month.Applying simple math formulas to those those numbers I might find some insight into what is happening in terms of demand and supply.

The neighborhood has a new middle school (opened last fall) and a new elementary school (opened this fall) within walking distance.